River Murray to Broken Hill Pipeline awarded

River Murray to Broken Hill Pipeline awarded

23
October
2017

WaterNSW has appointed a consortium of John Holland, MPC Group and TRILITY to design, build, operate and maintain the River Murray to Broken Hill Pipeline. The project will secure long-term water supply for Broken Hill and enable growth and prosperity for local communities.

The successful tender was chosen from a shortlist of four potential providers to build the 270km pipeline between Wentworth and Broken Hill as part of the NSW Government’s investment in regional water security.

John Holland MPC Group Joint Venture will design and construct the River Murray to Broken Hill Pipeline at a total project cost of $467 million.

Detailed planning and design works will commence immediately with construction to start in January 2018. The pipeline will be completed and ready for water by December 2018.

John Holland TRILITY Joint Venture will then undertake the operations and maintenance of the pipeline for a fixed price 20-year contract sum of $107.3m.

CEO David Harris said WaterNSW is proud to be leading such a significant regional project and building on the organisation’s successful reputation for project delivery.

“The project guarantees water security for the Broken Hill community and the social and economic benefits that come with a secure, dependable water supply,” he said.

“This project will bring immediate benefits to both the Wentworth and Broken Hill communities through more than 150 local jobs as well as the sourcing of project materials and other support logistics from regional providers.

“With the total workforce expected to reach 500 workers at peak times, the spin-off benefits to local businesses will also be considerable.

“It is estimated that the local economies will benefit by up to $50 million.

“The skills acquired by local sub-contractors on a project of this scale will also expand those firms’ capacity to engage in largescale capital works in the future.

“The contractor is also expected to invest around $3 million in training, meaning that locals who work on this project will have transferable experience and skills for future work.

“WaterNSW has ensured local businesses are well placed to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities on offer.“We have hosted information sessions that brought together the tenderers competing for the contract with local businesses to outline the project’s requirements regarding both resources and expertise and determine what can be sourced from the regions.

“Further information sessions will be held in the coming months on training and employment opportunities for the Wentworth and Broken Hill communities.”

Raw water will be sourced near Wentworth on the River Murray with the pipeline being constructed underground and will generally follow the Silver City Highway corridor to Broken Hill.